Reviews

Sengende Nähe by Nalini Singh, Nora Lachmann

kiiiaarraa_'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

You don't understand how excited I was to read a paranormal romance (especially one that has to do with shifters) with a dominant FMC. 

It was so good I even overlooked how Mercy's character was written to be a little annoying at times. I hated that part because I love me strong FMCs. Anyways I was waiting for a leopard and wolf mating so I ATE THIS UP. 

I usually don't like it when characters get physical too quickly in a book and this one was so fast wtf but honestly I didn't even think too much on it. Yes, the back and forth did annoy me to no end but it was spicy and it was nice seeing them melt for each other. 

Now...why do I just want to skip to Hawke and Sienna's book?!?! Like I've been waiting for them for SO LONG. Also I'm so happy for Lucas and Sascha!!! I called the pregnancy, but yeah, I'm so excited. Talking about wanting to skip books... I'm so curious about Kaleb. And the ghost. Idk why I feel like Kaleb is the ghost??? I could be wrong but I'm really hoping Kaleb actually gets his own book and that we find out who the Ghost is ASAP

justinelbz's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

valeriaana_reads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

lindoforbes's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

heabooknerd's review against another edition

5.0

With the addition of the Human Alliance things are getting really interesting and the alliances and enemies being made are growing. When I first started this series, I had no idea where it was going or how complex Nalini Singh was going to get, but it’s great!

I loved Riley’s character, he’s so strong and solid and dependable. He’s my perfect kind of hero even when he needs to let go of his over-possessive streak. He’s been badly damaged by not being able to prevent his sister Brenna’s attack. But he’s able to start healing when he starts seeing Mercy. She’s wild, passionate, and strong and she challenges Riley at every turn. I liked both their dedications to their packs even when it made things hard for them to be together.

Sometimes Mercy got on my nerves; she’s so headstrong and stubborn and oftentimes she could dish it out but couldn’t take it. Mercy is a very passionate woman so sometimes when she’s hurt she lashes out and this annoyed me a little bit. This only happened a few times and obviously didn’t affect my rating on this book.

We get lots of appearances by other characters, per usual, and this made me very happy. There’s plenty of Lucas and Sascha (and a big surprise!), a bit of Brenna and Judd, Dorian and Ashaya. There’s also some new developments on the Hawke and Sienna front and you can tell that story will be volatile when it comes around.

eesh25's review against another edition

4.0

It has now been almost a week since I finished this novel and it’s only now that I’m reviewing it. I have four more reviews to write afterwards and my reviewing game is so weak, it’s kind of distressing. My reading game, believe it or not, might actually be worse. It takes me an hour to find a book that I’m interested in and even then, it’s possible that I might just stop reading midway. The reading challenge I’ve participated in is being ignored and basically, this month sucks.

But… this novel doesn’t suck at all so I’m going to stop blabbering and get to the point. Hopefully, I can do at least a semi-decent job of that.

Branded by Fire features Mercy from DarkRiver pack and Riley from SnowDancer. You can say it’s a romance between a cat and a dog. It’s not exactly conventional and Mercy feels the same way. She doesn’t know how something like that could ever work. But she’s on the verge of sexual sarvation and she and Riley have undeniable chemistry, so they go for it. She intended for it to be a one time thing but let’s be honest, that wasn’t ever gonna happen.

On top of that, there’s trouble being caused in the city and Mercy and Riley have to work together to solve the case. This means that they have to navigate their personal and professional relationships at the same time which, I though, was a brilliant move on the author’s part.

You see, one of Mercy biggest concerns with finding a mate is that she’s into dominant men but she doesn’t want to be dominated or conrolled. She’s a Sentinel in her pack and she doesn’t want someone who’s always going to try to sheild her or treat her like she can’t take care of herself. It’s a valid concern. Mercy wants an equal who accepts her as she is instead of trying to change her. The problem with Riley is that he seems to want a stay-at-home wife. And before you call him a sexist asshole, that simply means he doesn’t want a soldier, aka a person who’s constantly in danger. After what happened to his sister and his mother, he doesn’t think he can deal with more. He’s still kind of a dumbass at points, though.

Anyway (went off on a tangent there), by putting Mercy and Riley in a professional situation, the author managed to show us the aspect of their relationship that Mercy was wary of and got them both to deal with it, because if Riley couldn’t see her as the capable soldier she is, they would never work.

Also, you might have noticed that I didn’t say much on the topic of what the trouble in the city was. And that’s because I don’t remember much. I mean, I know the main stuff but I’m rusty on the details. The “villain” was the Human Alliance, which is great because humans need page-time. And usually I’m equally interested in both the romantic and non-romantic plotlines. But that was when the latter plot directly impacted out protagonists. In this case, the shady stuff going on was so separate from both Mercy and Riley, I couldn’t get into it. Other than one kidnapping and some stuff to do with Nikita, anytime something other than Mercy or Riley came on, I wasn’t interested.

Though to be fair, part of it might be due to how much fun it was to read about Mercy and Riley. Their chemistry was off the charts, I loved their banter, and they had some very cute moments. Still, if the non-romantic subplot had a more personal impact, the book would have been perfect.

whimsicalmeerkat's review against another edition

4.0

Updated: OK, the dominance dance did still annoy me, but I liked Mercy more this time
Original: Blah blah, which pack will dominate, blah blah. Enjoyed the further insights into the Councilors though.

coracarmack's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

*REREAD*

booksbydann's review against another edition

4.0

Relectura: 4⭐
¿Acaso Mercy y Riley son la pareja con más química de toda la serie? Me atrevo a decir que no están lejos del primer puesto.

Si bien la Alianza Humana no es mi actor sociopolítico favorito, nuevamente disfruté muchísimo del conflicto en lo concerniente al mundo y adoro las facetas que vamos descubriendo de los distintos actores individuales.

efecaulfield's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0